Mechanic Jimmy Dunn works on a broken sewing machine at Cleveland, Tenn.-based Hardwick Clothes.
Allan Jones
Bruce Bellusci
Jeffery DiduchHundreds of fast fingers flew across strips of navy blue fabric, navigating the seams and stitches as Singer sewing machines pounded tirelessly through reams of cloth.
Nearby, steam rose from a row of presses, where dozens of workers finish each handmade jacket with a a hot iron before moving on to the next one.
Such a scene on the factory floor of Cleveland, Tenn.-based Hardwick Clothes, which months ago teetered on the brink of insolvency with creditors lining up and customers melting away, would have been relegated to the history books had a buyer not stepped up to buy the floundering suit maker.
But Cleveland businessman Allan Jones, who gained fame and access to cash through his nationwide chain of payday loan businesses, bailed out the 250-worker company with a $1.9 million buyout this year, and on Monday installed a new CEO and chief designer to turn Hardwick around.
“We’re going to make the best blazer in the world,” Jones declared, himself wearing a Hardwick blazer. “I think you’re seeing the pendulum swinging back to American-made, and we’re going to capitalize on that.”